Neoclassicism

About

Mid-18th-century to mid-19th-century artworks strongly influenced by ancient Greek and Roman art, particularly for its compositional order and simplification of imagery. Archaeological discoveries of the time brought the work of these ancient civilizations to the attention of Neoclassicists. The structured approach to historical subject matter in Neoclassical work was seen as the opposite of the ornamentation of the preceding Rococo movement. Concurrently with, and in the face of, Neoclassicism, Romanticism was also emerging. Jacques-Louis David is the best-known Neoclassical artist; two of his most famous works are Oath of the Horatii (1784) and Death of Marat (1793).